Improved car-brake



JAMES H. BEATTY, OF FRANKLIN'PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 85,987, dated January 19, 1869.

IMPROVED CAR-BRAKE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that I, JAMES H. BEATTY, of Franklm, in the county ofVenango, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Oar-Brakes; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable thoseskilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. v

This invention relates to improvements in brakes for checking orstopping railroad-cars or trains, when the same are under motion, andwhich brakes may be applied to land-carriages, if desired, the saidimprovement afi'ording the most eflicient and expeditious means forstopping railroad-cars which has hitherto been ap- .plied to them; and

The invention consists in operating the shoes of the brake by acombination of mechanical power, and in bringing the shoe in contactwith the rail, and in embracing or griping the wheel with a doublebrake, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal side section of arailroad-car or truck, provided with one of my improved brakes, showingthe position of the brake when the car is in motion and brakes notapplied.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, (partly in section,) showingthe brake as when applied ibr stopping the train, in case of accident.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This brake consists of two shoes appliedon opposite sides of each of theforward wheels of a railroad-car, which are shoes marked A and B.

These shoes are tied together by bars 0, on each side of the wheels.

, The shoes have rectangular slots or mortises on their backs, as seenat D, and the bolts E, which pass through the ends of the bars 0, passthrough these slots, so that the shoes have play longitudinally, or upand down thereon, the length of the slots.

Ii represents the stirrups, by which the ends of the bars are supported.

l lccentric-bands g are attached to the upper ends of these stirrups.

h representsthe eccentrics, which are fast to transverse shafts -i,which shafts are supported on the sides of the car, as seen in thedrawing, in boxesj.

J represents arms or levers, which are rigidly attached to these shafts,and through which power is transmitted to the brakes.

K is a horizontal shaft, supported in boxes m, beneath the car-frame,(longitudinally with the our) as seen more distinctly in fig. 1.

L is a drum on this shaft K.

The arms or levers J are connected with this drum by chains, ropes, orelastic bands, of any suitable dcscription, marked M.

The arms J are drawn back to the position seen in fig. 1, by the elasticbands 0.

The shoes A and B are held up and from contact with the wheel by thesprings P, which are attached to the bars 0, as seen in fig. 1.

R represents the car-wheel.

The brake is operated (or brought in contact with both wheelssimultaneously) by turning the shaft K, and thereby drawing one or bothof the shoes upward and onto an enlarged diameter of the wheel.

S is a wheel or drum, which is attached to the shaft for this purpose.

Power is applied to this wheel or drum from the platform ofthc car, byany suitable mechanical means.

It will be seen that, by turning the wheel in one direction, the frontshoes A will be brought in contact with the car-wheel, which will serveas the ordinary station-brake, the motion of the car being in thedirection irulicated by the arrow.

When the brake is thus applied, the shoe A could not assumethe positionseen in fig. 2, but would be held up, so that it could not be drawn downby the friction; but, in case of accident, or when it becomesnecess'aryto suddenly stop the train, the wheel and shaft K are turnedin the other direction, and the shoe B is brought in contact with, thewheel.

The shoe A (now being slackly held) is brought in contact with thewheel, and the motion of the wheel and the friction produced will dr wit down in contact with the rail, so as to enclose the rail by theflanges on each side, as seen in fig. 2, and indicated by dotted lines.

When one of the shoes engages with the wheel, the other also brought incontact with it at all times.

. It will be seen that the eccentrics h are acted upon by the arms orlevers J, and that the levers J are operated by the wheel and axle, sothat the two principal mechanical powers, the lever and the inclinedplane, are brought into requisition in operating the brakes.

I claim as'new, and desire .to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Thecombination of the shoes A B, bars 0, links 1 g, eccentrics 71, andspring P, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially asherein shown'and.

described, for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with the above, the shaft K L, cords or chains M N,arms J, and elastic bands 0, substantially as herein described, for thcpurpose specified.

b. The construction of the shoes A B, with slots D at their backs,adapted to receive the pins E, connecting the bars 0, whereby the saidshoes are made adjustable, in the manner and for the purposesubstantially as herein shown and described.

4. The adjustable shoes A B, when combined with mechanism, whereby oneof them may be drawn up on the enlarged i'lialneter of the wheel, whilethe other is unmoved, or while one is drawn up, the other, by frictionwith the wheel, is drawn downin contact with the rail, in the manner andfor the purpose substantially as herein shown and described.

The above specification of my invention signed by me, this 11th day ofApril, 1868.

JAMES H. BEA'ITY.

Witnesses:

WM. F. MCNAMARA, ALEX. F. Ronnn'rs.

